Originally Posted by
Jim Kyle
It went in long before the Interstate program itself. Back in the late '40s, Northwest Highway ended (or more accurately, began) at May and only the ramps on the west side of May existed. The bridge was there, as I recall, even though the highway didn't extend to the east. During the 50s, the highway got extended to the east as far as Classen Circle. The part of I44 from NW 39 and May up to the Belle Isle Bridge didn't get built until the mid-50s; I remember the excavation for its May Avenue underpass being dug in 1954. And the Belle Isle bridge itself dates from the early 70s. Before that, the I44 route joined NW highway, to Classen Circle, then continued to the northeast from there.
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